Veloster N

Make
Hyundai
Segment
Hatchback

We found out last week that Hyundai dealers, as of this month, were no longer offering any rebates, financing deals or lease deals on the base Veloster hatchback. Additionally, inventory was running low with only 200 available, most of which were the sportier N model. That had us worried the lower trims, the Veloster and Veloster Turbo, might be cancelled.

But that is not the case, thankfully, as Hyundai has confirmed we'll see Velosters besides the 275-hp N model into 2022. The company did say it would be a streamlined lineup. Hyundai also told us that it will be reviewing its trim strategy and "will be presenting any changes for the 22MY in our mid-year preview documents." Those are due out in the next month.

The current base Veloster comes in at a very reasonable $18,900. For that buyers get a 2.0-liter four making 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. That came with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, with power going to the front wheels. The 2.0 Premium goes up about four grand, but you don't get the turbo engine until the next step.

That Turbo R-Spec, which is cheaper than the Turbo, costs $23,450 and delivers 201 hp and 195 lb-ft from a turbocharged 2.0-liter. The Turbo comes next with more interior features at $25,750 and the Turbo Ultimate tops them all with a price of $28,450, including the same Turbo powertrain.

So we have five trims of non-N Velosters. We could easily get rid of three, and have 2.0, Turbo and N, which would make sense. That N, by the way, is possibly the best front-wheel drive vehicle on the planet, depending on how you rate the maniacal Honda Civic Type R. At a base price of $32,250, the N certainly the best front-wheel drive bang for the buck as the Type R is much more expensive ($37,895). We'll note that from 2020 to 2021, the Veloster N's price grew by almost $5,000.

So yeah, a world with three Velosters is fine, maybe even two if you drop the base and keep the Turbo and the N. We'll have to wait until 2022 to find out where the model ultimately goes.